SEBES Brochure and 2023 Publications

The 2023 Education Schedule is Here!

Transfers Quick-Reference Guide

Farewell Juanita 

Please note that we update the SEBES brochure annually in January. Please do not submit “Order Materials” requests for the SEBES brochure until after the first of the year. 

TRUE or FALSE? MOSERS updates ALL our publications in January of every year so you should order a whole new supply every January?

FALSE! We do not update ALL of our publications in January. Most publications are updated annually but not specifically in January. This includes all member handbooks. Be sure to always check the online library on our website for the most up-to-date versions. 

The 2023 education schedule is here! Please encourage your employees to register for one of our educational programs that are specifically designed for each career stage. The schedule includes both in-person seminars and online webinars.

Newer Employees & MOSERS Webinars – Employees can start learning about the state benefits administered by MOSERS, including pension plan features, life insurance, long-term disability insurance, and their personal retirement savings plan options with MO Deferred Comp.

Mid-Career Webinar – Employees can learn how different career and life events may affect their pension benefit.

Ready to Retire Sessions – Employees can learn about the retirement process and how different decisions may impact their pension benefit.

Please remind them to visit the Education page for more information!

A “transfer”, as MOSERS defines it, occurs when an employee moves from one MOSERS-covered agency to another without a 30-day break in service or when an employee moves from one org/section to another org/section within the same agency.

When a transfer occurs, MOSERS needs a record of where the employee left and where the employee is going to ensure the continuity of the employee’s benefits through MOSERS. 

The action you take to report the activity to MOSERS depends on the circumstances. 

Here’s a quick-reference guide we hope will help you in those situations:

*If you have a group of employees moving from one org/section to another org/section within your agency rather than an individual employee, please email employers@mosers.org. We can initiate a mass transfer of employees on your behalf without you having to submit individual Transfer forms.   

Farewell, Juanita! One of our employer services analysts, Juanita Libbert, is retiring on January 1st, after 30 years and 4 months of service with MOSERS. Many of you have interacted with Juanita over the years in addressing status changes and payroll adjustments for your employees. Juanita possesses a thorough knowledge of employer reporting processes, and we will miss her dedicated service. Juanita’s last day in the office will be Friday, December 23^rd.  We wish her the best in her retirement years! 

Please direct any emails intended for Juanita to employers@mosers.org or call an employer services analyst at (573) 632-6100 and press option 2. 

BackDROP for General State Employees (MSEP & MSEP 2000)flyer – December 2022

Destination Retirement Checklist (University Employees) – December 2022

Destination Retirement Checklist – December 2022

Total Compensation Calculator – November 2022

2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report – November 2022

Key Facts Regarding Funding – October 2022

Summary of Pension Benefit Provisions (All Plans) – October 2022

The 2023 Education Schedule is Coming Soon! 

Scheduling In-Person Visits

Submit Termination Forms ASAP

HR Update Anytime, Anywhere! 

We are currently finalizing our 2023 education schedule and anticipate having registration open by mid-December. The schedule includes both in-person seminars and online webinars.

We have designed our educational programs to help state employees learn information about their benefits as they progress through their career and experience different life events along the way.

Newer Employees & MOSERS Webinars – Employees can start learning about the state benefits administered by MOSERS, including pension plan features, life insurance, long-term disability, and their personal retirement savings plan options with MO Deferred Comp.

• For employees who are newer to the state with at least six months but less than five years of service (not yet vested)
• Speakers include MOSERS and MO Deferred Comp
• Sessions last approximately 1 ½ hours
• Daytime sessions run from 9:30 a.m. until11:00 a.m.
• Evening sessions run from 5:30 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

Mid-Career Webinar – Employees can learn how different career and life events may affect their pension benefit.

• For employees with at least five years of service (vested) and ten or more years until retirement eligibility
• Speakers include MOSERS and MO Deferred Comp
• Sessions last approximately 2.5 hours
• Daytime sessions are held from 9:30 a.m. until Noon
• Evening sessions are held from 5:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Ready to Retire Sessions – Employees can learn about the retirement process and how different decisions may impact their pension benefit.

• For employees within 5 years of retirement eligibility
• Speakers include MOSERS, MO Deferred Comp, the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP), and the Social Security Administration (SSA).
• For MSEP/MSEP 2000 members:
  • Full-day webinars are from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., with a 30 minute lunch break.
  • Full-day seminars are from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and include a box lunch.
  • Evening webinars are held from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and speakers include MOSERS and MO Deferred Comp only.
• For MSEP 2011 members:
  • Full-day webinars are from 9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., with a 30 minute lunch break.
  • Full-day seminars are from 9:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and include a box lunch

If members have questions about their MOSERS retirement, life insurance, or long-term disability benefits, they can certainly ask those questions over the phone or by email. However, if they prefer, they can schedule an appointment in our office. There are several advantages to scheduling the appointment in advance rather than just stopping by. The biggest advantage is that members are likely to have a much shorter wait time if they have an appointment. Counselors are available to assist members from 8:00 a.m. until noon and from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p.m Monday through Friday. Our office is open during the noon hour for members who would like to drop off forms, however, we also have a drop box outside our office available 24/7.

Our benefit counselors can:
• Print off benefit estimates during an appointment
• Discuss retirement options
• Demonstrate how to retire online
• Provide personal assistance when submitting a claim for life insurance or long-term disability benefits
• And so much more!

Please encourage your employees to make an appointment in advance and to see our tips for in person visits.

If employees would rather meet virtually, instead of in-person, they can just let us know when they contact us to schedule an appointment. We will set it up through GoToMeeting, making it easy to connect one-on-one with a benefit counselor.

We appreciate all the work that you do for your employees and know that your time is valuable! We want to remind you how important it is to submit termination forms on time. We are unable to properly calculate a member’s Final Average Pay (FAP), which is used in calculating retirement benefits, without an accurate termination date. Submitting the termination form late stalls the retirement process for your employees and can delay retirement benefits. Additionally, we need the accurate and timely submission of termination forms to relay time-sensitive information to members regarding their MOSERS benefits. Submitting these forms late also impacts members in the following ways:

• Terminated members have 60 days to purchase portable group life insurance or convert their life insurance coverage to an individual policy if they wish to retain it. The termination form prompts us to notify members of their option to do so. Submitting the termination form late could deny the member the opportunity to continue this coverage.
• Members with life insurance coverage through MOSERS’ group policy who are eligible to retire may retain coverage as a retiree if they retire within 60 days of termination. Delayed submission of the termination form may complicate a member’s ability to retain coverage as a retiree.
• MSEP 2011 members may request a refund of employee retirement contributions. These contributions can only be paid 90 days after the date of termination, or 90 days after the member’s request is received, whichever is later. MOSERS notifies members of their eligibility to request this refund after we receive the termination form. Submitting the termination form late delays this notice and can delay payment of refunds to members.

Thank you for your continued support in making these processes smooth and efficient for you and your employees.

Did you know that you can access HR Update anytime from our website?

The HR Update webpage is similar to our Rumor Central Blog and features a tags sidebar. This allows you to filter through the posts based on the subject (or tag) of the post. You can also search by year, where we keep posts published for three years. We know HR Update is an important resource for MOSERS employers. Keeping this platform up to date and efficient is a top priority. 

Key Facts Regarding Funding – October 2022

Summary of Pension Benefit Provisions (All Plans) – October 2022

Summary of Pension Benefit Provisions (MSEP & MSEP 2000) – October 2022

MOSERS Benefits During Military Leave flyer – September 2022

MOSERS Strategic Plan – July 2022

Employee Contributions (MSEP 2011 & Judicial Plan 2011) brochure – May 2022

Glossary of Terms – April 2022

Annual Optional Life Insurance Review Reminder

Sick Leave for Reemployed Retirees 

Results of the Phoenix Training Survey

CURP Transfers

Word on the Street: Temporary Benefit 

Welcome Megan Schulte!

We’re halfway through the 2022 Annual Life Insurance Review period. We will be sending emails reminding our eligible members of this opportunity, which ends on October 31st. During the month of October, members can log in to myMOSERS to increase their optional life insurance coverage, without having to prove insurability! Please encourage your employees to take advantage of this special opportunity to help provide financial security for their loved ones if something happens to them. Don’t miss out!

A retiree reemployed in a benefit-eligible position after observing the termination and reemployment rules cannot receive additional retirement credit for pre-retirement unused sick leave, including any remaining hours that did not convert to whole months of service credit at retirement. When an employee retires, it is important to “zero out” unused sick leave balances in your payroll system.  For SAM II employers, MOSERS sends a monthly report of recent retirees to confirm the removal of sick leave balances in SAM II.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent Phoenix Training survey! We offered the survey to 401 employer reps and received responses from 132 reps from 31 different agencies, which is a great response!

In case you are not familiar with Phoenix, it is MOSERS’ new pension administration system, which contains all the demographic, service and salary, and contribution data needed to administer benefits for all MOSERS members. As the source of this vital information, you, the employer representatives, will be interacting directly with Phoenix. 

We anticipate going live with Phoenix in the Spring of 2023, so we are developing training for you now. We are confident you will find Phoenix to be intuitive and user-friendly and that it will provide you with more access to important benefit information for your employees.

Here is a summary of what we learned in the most recent survey:

• 62% of respondents work in Central Office whereas 38% work at a local facility
• 56% of respondents have been interacting with MOSERS as an employer rep for more than 5 years
• 83% said they spend less than 5 hours per week interacting with MOSERS
• 69% prefer online training; 26% prefer in-person training in Jefferson City; 5% prefer in-person training in “my area of the state”
• 99% prefer daytime training
• 82% have a work laptop they can bring to in-person training
• 16% (20 people) volunteered to review materials and demo training prior to the full rollout (Thank you!)

When we asked how well informed you feel you are regarding Phoenix, the responses were:

• 7% - very well informed
• 34% - somewhat informed
• 40% - a little informed
• 19% - this is the first I’ve heard of Phoenix

Watch HR Update for announcements about training beginning in early 2023!

Attention University Employers: After participating in the College and University Retirement Plan (CURP) for at least six years, and while still employed in a CURP-covered position, an employee may elect to transfer their membership to the Missouri State Employees’ Plan 2011 (MSEP 2011). Please note that HR should submit the Transfer of CURP Membership form to MOSERS and enter the member into SEBES.Enrolling through SEBES is a new step in this process so we want to draw your attention to this change. See Transferring from CURP to MOSERS for more information. 

True or False: The temporary benefit is designed to pay for medical premiums until the age of 62.

FALSE!

While the temporary benefit does END automatically at the age of 62, it is not tied to medical premiums or any other specific expenses you may have. The temporary benefit is an additional amount that eligible members receive from retirement until the age of 62. It is a provision of MSEP 2000 and MSEP 2011.

It is our pleasure to introduce Megan Schulte as a member of the employer services team. She is our new employer services analyst. Megan has been with MOSERS for more than 8 years previously serving as a benefit specialist, and senior benefit counselor. Megan is an expert in MOSERS' benefits, and we are thrilled to have her on our team! Megan and the rest of the Employer Services team are available to assist you. Email employers@mosers.org or call (800) 827-1063 option 2

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MOSERS Benefits During Military Leave flyer – September 2022

MOSERS Organization Chart – September 2022

MOSERS Strategic Plan – July 2022

Employee Contributions (MSEP 2011 & Judicial Plan 2011) brochure – May 2022

Glossary of Terms – April 2022

New Employee Orientation brochure – April 2022